The Saddening Truth Behind Thailand’s Tiger Temple Now Revealed

After two decades of battle between animal activists and Buddhist Monks of Tiger Temple in the Kanchanaburi Province in the country of Thailand, the Thai Government had now taken the necessary actions in order to rescue and extract the tigers in the said Buddhist Temple. This is a very careful process in case of the government since they are careful not to offend the followers of the said religion.

What had probably caused this mess? Around year 1999, it is first reported that the first tiger cub had been brought inside Wat Pha Luang Ta Bu Yannasampanno, which is immediately followed by seven more cubs at the course of that year. The Buddhist Monks claimed that they had brought the cubs because they are all orphaned due to hunting by some poachers. Even though the claimed origins aren’t confirmed, this actually became the start of the temple’s opening to the public, which was now more commonly known as the Tiger Temple. Inside the temple, locals and tourists alike were allowed to enter the temple and play with the tigers for a small fee. However, some concerned citizens and animal rights activists noticed that the tigers are sedated, therefore giving them some idea that animal cruelty is definitely taking place.

The animal rights activists voiced this matter out to the public in order to promote awareness. However, because of Buddhist religion’s influence, the Thai government didn’t take immediate action for fear that their actions would cause chaos among the religion’s followers. However, after years of careful covert research and compiling of evidence, the animal activists became victorious in getting their voices heard.

The government’s search began after the Thai Department of National Parks (DNP) had obtained a court order in regards to the case. After a week-long search, the department is able to rescue and extract 137 tigers in addition to uncovering tiger cubs that are stocked in the freezer. In addition to that discovery, twenty more tiger cubs have been found preserved inside containers with formaldehyde. However, the most saddening thing about the search is that animal cruelty is actually confirmed being committed inside the temple because of the uncovered tiger pelts, teeth and even an adult tiger’s carcass. It is also discovered that the microchips implanted on the tigers were actually removed under the monks’ orders in order to escape detection.

As of now, there’s definitely no doubt that the Tiger Temple is now out of commission in addition to the fact that some monks and temple staff are now facing criminal charges because of the crime.